The captain and navigation officer jailed for the grounding of the Rena are being released today after serving half their sentence.
The stricken ship's captain Mauro Balomaga, 44, and navigation officer Leonil Relon, 37, were sentenced to seven months jail on May 25 this year for their part in the grounding of the ship on Astrolabe Reef.
The Captain's lawyer Paul Mabey QC confirmed they will be released from Auckland Prison today before being deported back to the Philippines.
The Rena navigation officer and captain in Tauranga District Court for sentencing in May.
The pair pleading guilty to operating a vessel in a manner likely to cause danger, discharging a contaminant and altering ship documents.
The cargo ship Rena was travelling from Napier to the Port of Tauranga when it grounded on the Astrolabe Reef on October 5 last year subsquently spilling more than 350 tonnes of heavy fuel oil into Bay of Plenty waters.
With sentences under two years for non-violent crimes, the Filipino men were eligible for parole after serving half of their jail term.
Balomaga's lawyer says the pair served their sentences in Waikeria prison, but are tonight in Auckland Prison for convenience of the transfer to an aircraft tomorrow.
Read more about the events that unfolded following the grounding on October 5, here.
9 comments
Early release
Posted on 05-09-2012 14:53 | By The author of this comment has been removed.
This is simply not good enough!! Another case of the 'wet bus ticket' laws
Wow...
Posted on 05-09-2012 14:54 | By Bassist
.... That'll teach them, after a punishment like that they'll think twice about doing that again wont they..... What a joke!!!!
Phillipines
Posted on 05-09-2012 15:02 | By Calm Gully
Would someone who broke the law in the Philippines get the same courtesy? WHY are punishments served and then forgotten? 7 months is 7 months, our judicial system is soft!
Behind closed doors
Posted on 05-09-2012 15:51 | By Butch
who knows what has happenened, and what has changed hands, go back to the "Rainbow" debacle and the holiday on a South Pacific Island the French sabatuers got, and there was a murder charge involved, just another NZ legal system joke.
Clown justice.
Posted on 05-09-2012 16:24 | By Zone14
Run a multi million dollar ship into a spot that sticks out like a bucket of maggots in fly spray factory. What a joke,these clowns do not even deserve that. Because they are not funny.Give them a sentence that a few repeat burglars get for stealing phones and petty cash.That will stop them......
lets all laugh
Posted on 05-09-2012 16:35 | By hapukafin
What a joke,like all other sentences that is paroled, do half of it and you can go free.What about the 2 mile exclusion zone, that should be reduced to one mile then. We are sending out a clear message in this country to come here and committ your crime and we will let you go after you have served half your time.
Posted on 05-09-2012 19:26 | By GM
7 years for blatant incompetence and negligence was a joke, 3 1/2 months is ludicrous. These men have ruined businesses and adversely affected the lives of many.
violence??
Posted on 05-09-2012 19:55 | By lurking
i feel sorry for them...what they did was make a simple mistake...who has not done the same driving to work or on a sunday drive...check out the violent assault on two french tourists ...6 weeks in prison...now thats a joke....not laughing tho.,....
Money
Posted on 06-09-2012 09:27 | By maccachic
These offenders should have been jailed in their own country not kept in luxury at taxpayers expense. I hope they are banned from returning here.
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